Stakes High for Iraqi Coach

Published: October 27, 1993

DOHA, Qatar, Oct. 26—
Amo Baba, a former Iraqi army major turned soccer coach, says he is the "most worried man in the world." If Iraq's soccer team loses to Japan on Thursday, it could end his career in sports.

Today, Baba sat in his room at the Gulf-Sheraton hotel, gazing at a wristwatch bearing a picture of Saddam Hussein, a Christmas gift given to him by the Iraqi leader years ago.

"If my team wins and goes to the United States, I get the laurel," he said. 'If we lose, I will get the stick. The laurel can be anything: money, car, a new house. And the stick will surely be my sacking."

Baba, who took over from Adnan Dirjal after Iraq lost, 3-2, to North Korea here 11 days ago, said of being an Iraqi coach: "The bad part is you get fired very often. I have been fired at least 10 times until now, the last time was in the Seoul Olympic Games when we lost to Italy, 0-2. But this time it is different, the whole nation is waiting, our president is watching, this is very important and very scary." Hussein's oldest son, Odai, heads Iraq's soccer federation.

Baba said he had only one wish: "Victory over Japan," he said, "so that I can tell my president, 'Here I am with American visas for your soccer team.' "